Fast Girl

A Life Spent Running from Madness

By: Suzy Favor Hamilton

Narrated by: Suzy Favor Hamilton, Nan McNamara

The former middle-distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind.

During the 1990s three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports-apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength, and independence and a desire she couldn't tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as "Kelly".

But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling, frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind.

©2015 Suzy Favor Hamilton (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

loved it!

Fascinated by the story. Enjoyed it very much. The last few chapters had me hooked to listening Nonstop.

Not bad

The beginning half of the book wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It took a lot to convince myself to continue reading. the second half of the book sped up and switched gears and then it became hard to put down! Overall a pretty good read, not my favorite but not bad at all.

Worth the listen.

I was skeptical when I was reading the narrative of this. It was really enjoyable. I couldn’t stop listening. To some people it won’t make sense, and to some make all the sense.

Great book!

I enjoyed listening to this book. It has everything I love - running, shopping, glamour, sexy scenes, craziness ,courage, and reality! While I don't understand this mental disorder at times it was hard to gain sympathy for Suzie but needless to say it was a great book to listen to while I did my running! Loved it!

Wisconsin girl

Being from Wisconsin and knowing of Suzy over the years with her running ability and then about her being an escort it intrigued me to read/listen to this book to see why. Sad to find out that all along she had bipolar disease and I am sure that is why she never went anywhere in the Olympics...such as shame. Hope she can help a lot of people with her story. Couldn't turn the book off wanted to keep listening to see what was next. A must read book or listen.

Filled with excuses and bragging

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I read this book to better understand a story I had seen about this on TV.

Has Fast Girl turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the early parts of the book explaining family and her running career

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Nope

Any additional comments?

I understand the progression of the disease and the anxiety related to running, but the whole book had a tone of "poor me" and "it wasn't my fault" Almost justifying her behaviors and not taking responsibility. I was hoping that would happen in the end, but it did not.

narrator sucks but story is terrific

This was an excellent book. It shed so much light on mental illness and left me in awe of Suzy Favor Hamilton's courage for writing it, and the love that Mark Hamilton has for her

Good story

Good story, well read. It has a carry over to other parts of life. My only issue was that the author comes off sounding boastful at times.

Excellent read. Honest and very geniune.

Excellent read. The author is extremely brave and genuine. I believe this story can help others with bipolar disorder have a clear understanding of the disease.

Out of the Box

This was a fascinating listen. While I confess that the salaciousness of the topic drew me in, I found the unfettered honesty and underlying pain is what kept me listening. I spend a lot of time around runners and I know many who scoff at Hamilton's story, they do so, I believe, out of ignorance. This story does not fit neatly in our Instagram world but it opened my eyes to mental illness in a way they never had been before.